Ionic liquids have been used in electrochemistry and green chemistry. For these uses, the ionic liquid typically has an imidazolium cation or a pyridinium cation. Ionic liquids have also been investigated to replace trinitrotoluene (“TNT”) in melt-pour explosive compositions. In these applications, the ionic liquid is energetic and provides an energy contribution to the composition. Compositions that include the energetic ionic liquids are designed to have an energetic performance greater than or comparable to that of conventional TNT compositions. U.S. Pat. No. 6,509,473 describes energetic triazole salts for use in a propellant. The anion of the salt is a nitrate, perchlorate or dinitramide and the cation is 1,2,4-triazole, 3,4,5-triamino-1,2,4-triazole, or 4-amino-1,2,4-triazole.
U.S. Patent Application No. 2005/0269001 describes an energetic ionic liquid for use in a monopropellant or bipropellant composition. The energetic ionic liquid includes a tetrazolium cation and a nitrate, nitrite, perchlorate, halide, sulfonate, sulfate, borate, phosphate, phosphinate, antimonate, amide, imide, carboxylate, alkyl anion, or coordination complex as an anion. Alternatively, the anion is a tetrazolide and the cation is an ammonium, imidazolium, pyridinium, phosphonium, guanidinium, or uranium cation. The composition optionally includes a nonenergetic ionic liquid.
It would be desirable to develop ionic liquids that desensitize energetic materials. While ionic liquids are commercially available, most of these have corrosive anions (halides, perchlorates) and/or carbon-rich cations and, therefore, are not suitable for use in energetic materials.